Vienna State Opera
The challenge
Contemporary art on the “Safety Curtain”
Every year, a different work of art adorns the 14-metre-high safety curtain at the Vienna State Opera. The enormous surface is covered with specially printed fabric. This calls for the right equipment. After all, this venerable opera house on Vienna’s Ringstrasse is no ordinary worksite. Prangl naturally had just the right solution for this delicate assignment.
Our solution
Cultural project
Since 1998, the Vienna State Opera’s safety curtain, which serves as a fire barrier, has also provided a 176-square-metre exhibition space for contemporary art. This brings works by Austrian and international artists to opera audiences. Each year, the organisers of this cultural project select one artwork for the opera season. Previous works have included pieces by Maria Lassnig, Jeff Koons, Franz West, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and Pipilotti Rist. For the 29th edition, a work by Austrian painter Herbert Brandl was selected.
Herbert Brandl
Brandl’s works can be found in museums around the world, including the Albertina in Vienna, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Kunsthaus Zürich, the Museu Serralves in Porto, the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid and the Renaissance Society in Chicago. Using an innovative process, the artwork created especially for this project by the late Herbert Brandl was printed onto PVC mesh certified to meet fire safety requirements. To avoid damaging the listed historic curtain designed by Rudolf Eisenmenger in the post-war period, the enormous sheet of mesh had to be secured using magnets.
Scissor lifts
Two electric scissor lifts from Prangl’s fleet, with a working height of 12 metres, were up to the task. First, boards were laid down to protect the stage floor. The first step in installing the artwork was to attach a layer of fleece as a protective buffer. The new artwork was then installed, starting at the top edge. Magnetic strips were then used to pull the large sheet of mesh taut from both sides. Visitors first saw the new look of the “Safety Curtain” during a performance of Le nozze di Figaro; the last chance to see it will be at the end of June 2027 …
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